CULTURAL PRACTICES 199 



plants. The color of the dusted peanut vines is frequently darker than 

 the undusted plants. For this reason, it is very important that the time of 

 digging be determined by examination at maturity of the nuts rather 

 than appearance of the foliage. 



Dusting results in larger yields of peanuts and vines, and in better 

 quality nuts and hay. 



Machinery 



Numerous machines are available for dusting. For large-scale opera- 

 tions, dusting with tractor power take-ofif equipment is most suitable. In 

 the case of smaller acreages, mule-drawn dusters of the one-horse type 

 are preferable. For only a few acres, hand dusting with the small hand- 

 operated duster is satisfactory. For best results there should be a dis- 

 tributor (duster nozzle) over each row. 



HARVESTING 



The peanut plant has a fruiting period covering about 2 months. All 

 pods do not ripen at the same time. Thus, it is diiificult to tell just when 

 the crop should be dug. If digging is done in time to save the earlier 

 formed pods, then the later ones will be immature. On the other hand, if 

 digging is delayed, many of the early-formed pods of Spanish peanuts will 

 sprout and those of runners and Virginia Bunch are pulled off and left 

 in the soil. The principal object is to dig the crop at a stage when the 

 largest number of mature pods can be saved and when the weather is 

 suitable for curing. If the weather is unsuited for curing, the peanuts 

 cannot be harvested regardless of the stage of growth. Frequently, insects 

 destroy the foliage and make digging immediately necessary in order to 

 save the crop. 



The usual method of determining when to dig is to examine the crop 

 frequently as digging time approaches. At intervals of a few days plants 

 should be pulled and the stems and pods carefully examined. If many 

 of the stem^.. have j^t^rted to decay, digging should be started at once. 

 An examination of the pods will show whether or not the pods are ripe. 

 When a peanut is ripe, the veins of the hulls are prominent and the in- 

 side of the hull has turned dark. If the inside of the hull is white, the 

 pod is immature. Another indication of time to dig is that of slight yellow- 

 ing of the foliage. The leaves become spotted and some of the leaves begin 

 to drop. 



A large amount of labor is required for digging peanuts. Therefore, the 

 harvest period usually extends from 2 to 3 weeks. This usually means that 



